Wedding Dress Alterations

grainuaile

Hi
I'm having a miniature nervous breakdown.
After trying on what must have been a hundred dresses I finally found "the one" in Memories Boutique in Dublin. From what I gather its an end-of-line dress from a designer that has closed down (Moreland - if anyone knows more about them let me know!). Anyway its now a one-off, the one I tried in the shop and paid a 30% deposit on is the one I will get, due to pay the balance and pick it up within the next couple of months.
The thing is it is at least one size too small for me. The guy in the shop assured me that wedding dresses are designed to be altered to go up one size and down two sizes easily without changing the look of the dress. I had tried on so many wedding dresses, never any that actually fitted, that I just thought nothing of it when I couldn't zip this one up and went ahead. However my sister just had her first fitting and the dressmaker has told her that some of the changes the shop assistant assured her could be done are actually not possible for one reason or another. She's not too bothered, her dress is still fab and as it was ordered in for her especially there's no question of it not fitting, just a few bits she thought she'd like changed. I am panicking ever so slightly - what if my dress can't actually be altered to fit me??? Its mostly around the ribs & boob area its tight so even if I managed to lose a bit of weight its not going to help.
As I said the dress is in Dublin and the guy in Memories has said he can recommend dressmakers nearby but I am from Mayo so I'd rather just bring it home and get a dressmaker here to alter it, so that I don't have to be trekking up and down for fittings. Therefore its not really possible to let the dressmaker see it before I pay the balance and then just lose the deposit if it can't be sorted.
I am totally and madly in love with the dress and I will be so upset if I can't wear it. Has anyone bought a dress off the shelf and had it let out to fit them successfully?? And if the worst comes to the worst, how long do those Chinese places that do copies take to make a dress? Wedding is end of March.

Babooshka

grainuaile wrote: »

Hi

I am totally and madly in love with the dress and I will be so upset if I can't wear it. Has anyone bought a dress off the shelf and had it let out to fit them successfully?? And if the worst comes to the worst, how long do those Chinese places that do copies take to make a dress? Wedding is end of March.

Ok breathe! You have until March to sort this out so it's not the end of the world. But you need peace of mind for your own sake, so I would definitely go back and talk to them in there, I've only heard good things about Memories so I'm sure they'll understand your worries. Give a quick call even and see what they say. The only alternative is to bring a dressmaker in with you when you're going back to try it on and see what they say. Do you know anyone who makes dresses and who would go with you? if they told you it couldn't be done you can then look for another dress in the shop and transfer the deposit to that one. But most important thing is to talk to the shop and have your fears put to rest. Best of luck.

phormium

Moreland Bridal amalgamated with The Bridal Outlet in Baldoyle, owned by the same company. They are still operating in Baldoyle, if you want to contact them if it would do any good? A relative of mine ordered a wedding dress from a Chinese website have previously had beautiful evening dresses made by them...it was a disaster, badly made, cheap fabric, took 10 weeks to come rather than the 5 promised, waste of money. I know others have success with them but you can't pin all hopes on them if you have a small time frame.

lazygal

The alterations woman in the Bridal Outlet is amazing. She works out of there but is self employed, as far as I recall, and her work is brilliant. My dress fit like a glove when she was finished with it, and she has a great eye for what needs to be done. You could contact them and ask to speak to her about your dress.

sarahkho

so is that possible u give me the number of that lady i have the same problem as well order from chinese crowded n disappointed n now i need one to do altration for my wedding dress